Loss in the Beginning
by FrostyTheDragon
Summary: Naruto was a second too slow, and Iruka died to protect him. With the loss of his precious person, how will Naruto change? Can he overcome the darkness in his heart? Rated M for language, violence, and adult themes.


**I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. All right and privileges go to whomever it may concern. **

Naruto Uzumaki looked up as the bushes nearby began to shake, a smile splitting his face when he saw that it was Iruka Umino who found him.

When Iruka saw him, he gave the blond-haired youth a frustrated smile. He was practically shaking with anger as he neared Naruto, who had seemed to not care about his situation at all. "It's all over, Naruto."

Naruto stood and slung the Scroll of Sealing on his back, rubbing the back of his head. "You found me...and I only learned one jutsu."

Iruka's eyebrow twitched, both in anger and indignation. _How can he be so calm?! Doesn't he realize how much trouble he's just caused himself? Wait...Did he just say that he's been practicing the jutsu in the scroll?_

The boy walked closer to Iruka, smiling with pride. "Iruka-sensei! I'm going to show you this amazing jutsu! Then you'll have to let me pass, 'cause that's the rule, right?"

"W-Who told you that?" Iruka gasped.

Naruto just continued on, seemingly oblivious to Iruka's shocked tone. "Mizuki-sensei! He told me about this scroll, this place…"

His voice trailed off as he took in the shocked expression on Iruka's face. He saw the anger, confusion, and horror that passed through Iruka's eyes. He scrunched his face when Iruka began to collect himself. Suddenly, Iruka looked behind him and threw Naruto to the side.

Naruto grunted as he hit the ground, but he nearly screamed when he saw the kunai protruding from Iruka's body.

"I'm impressed you found this place," a familiar voice said.

Iruka grunted as he withdrew a kunai, his furious gaze meeting the man he had considered a friend. "I see...that's how it is."

Naruto followed his gaze and gasped. Mizuki stood in a nearby tree, two large shuriken strapped to his back. A malicious grin was plastered on his face, sending shivers down Naruto's spine.

"Naruto," he said, "Give me that scroll."

He looked on in confusion, his eyes shifting from Iruka to Mizuki and back again. "Wait, wait...What's going on here?"

"Naruto, never give him the scroll!" Iruka ordered, pulling another kunai from his leg. "It is a dangerous object that contains forbidden jutsu! It was supposed to be sealed. Mizuki used you in order to get it for himself!"

A deep fear rose in Naruto. His eyes met those of Mizuki, and he was immediately paralyzed by the anger and hate in his look.

"Naruto, Iruka is only afraid of you holding that scroll," Mizuki said calmly.

Iruka met Naruto's shocked and horrified expression with a determined one. "What are you talking about, Mizuki? Do not let him fool you, Naruto!"

A deep chuckle rose from within Mizuki, something that set Naruto's already-fraying nerves on edge. "I'll tell you the truth, Naruto."

"You idiot! Don't tell him!"

Mizuki ignored Iruka, continuing to glare at Naruto. "After the Kyūbi attack twelve years ago, a rule was created. That is, a rule that everyone but you knows."

"Except me? What is it?"

"Stop it, Mizuki!"

"The rule forbids anyone from revealing that you're actually the demon fox spirit," Mizuki declared darkly, his face contorting in sick glee. "You're actually the demon, the Kyūbi no Kitsune, the same one that killed Iruka's parents and nearly destroyed our village!"

Iruka desperately struggled against the kunai and the pain. "Stop it!"

Mizuki chuckled, enjoying the emotions running rampant across Naruto's face. "Everyone has been deceiving you ever since. Didn't you find it strange why everyone hated you so much?"

Naruto's chakra erupted from him as he tried to deny it. "No! No no no! It's not true!"

"Of course it's true!" Mizuki jumped down, one of his large shuriken in hand. "That's why Iruka hates you so much!"

With those final words, Mizuki threw the spinning blade at Naruto. A maniacal laugh filled the clearing. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the bite of the blades, the pain of the injury.

"Naruto, get down!"

He heard the blades sink into flesh, but Naruto didn't feel the pain. He opened his eyes slowly as liquid dripped onto his face. To his horror, Iruka had covered Naruto's body with his own. Tears streamed down his face to fall onto Naruto's.

"Iruka-sensei? W-Why?"

"Because you and I are the same, Naruto," Iruka said softly, the pain clear in his voice. "After my parents died, nobody paid attention to me or gave me any support. I wasn't a good student in school. I was the class clown because...because I wanted people to notice me. I couldn't get noticed through excellence, so I kept doing stupid things."

_He's the same as me_, Naruto realized.

"It was so hard. Isn't that right, Naruto? You felt so lonely, right? And you suffered inside, right? I'm so sorry, Naruto. If I had been more responsible, maybe you wouldn't have suffered so much," Iurka cried.

Mizuki just chuckled. "Don't make me laugh! Iruka has always hated you since you killed his parents! He's just saying that to get the Scroll of Sealing back!"

Naruto was too confused, too lost in his mind. In desperation, he jumped away from Iruka and ran into the forest.

Iruka looked onwards and screamed. "Naruto!"

Mizuki walked to stand beside Iruka. "He's not the kind to change his mind easily. He will take revenge against our village using that scroll. Didn't you see his eyes? Those are the eyes of a demon fox."

Even as Iruka tried to move, Mizuki began to run into the forest. "I'll deal with you when I finish with the demon brat!"

Iruka used all his might and pulled the large shuriken from his back with a yelp. _I'm coming to save you, Naruto._

=Break=

Naruto slumped behind a tree, his mind clouded with turbulent thoughts. He was the demon fox that attacked Konoha? He killed all those people? Is that why the villagers hated him, despised his very existence?

He lost himself in his thoughts until a body fell nearby. Naruto looked out and saw Mizuki drop a Henge of Iruka, and Iruka dropped a Henge of Naruto, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Anyone can do whatever he wants once he has the scroll," Mizuki cackled as he stared down the injured Iruka. "There is no way that monster, that fox demon, won't take advantage of the power in that scroll!"

"You're right…" Iruka sighed.

Naruto's heart broke at those words. Even though they were so alike, and had bonded in the closest thing Naruto saw as a family, Iruka still only saw him as the demon inside of him. Tears of his own dripped down Naruto's cheeks, and he curled into a ball. _Iruka-sensei never cared about me at all._

"The fox would do that. However, he is _not_ the demon fox," Iruka snarled. "Naruto is different! I know that he is an exceptional student. He works hard, and he's single-minded and clumsy at the same time. No one accepts him, but he knows the meaning of human suffering. He is Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure no Sato!"

Mizuki looked at Iruka incredulously. "Is that right? Well, I'll just let you have those delusions when you die!"

He lept at Iruka, the second large shuriken spinning in hand. Mizuki could see it now, the power he would gain with the Scroll of Sealing. He'd become a true Kami no Shinobi!

What he didn't see was the kunai Iruka had drawn and kept at his side, nor the blond-haired boy trying to jump in the way. The only thing he saw, rather felt, was the cold steel of the weapon slipping into his chest and straight into his heart. Not even a second later, his body fell to the ground, lifeless. The large shuriken bit into Iruka's body at the same time, tearing through the flak jacket and into the flesh beneath. Iruka didn't scream, he was so consumed by the pain.

Naruto stopped in his tracks, his eyes locking onto Iruka's. "Iruka-sensei!"

He heaved the body of the traitor away, laying a hand on the shuriken to draw it out. Iruka placed a comforting hand on his, drawing his attention.

"Naruto, I don't have long," Iruka whispered. "I meant every word I said. I should have been there for you more, protected you when you needed protecting, and loved you when all you needed was comfort."

Naruto shook his head, his mind blank. "No! Iruka-sensei, I'll get the Hokage! He can fix this! Just don't leave me, please!"

Iruka smiled sadly, a small trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth. "Naruto, close your eyes. I have one last gift."

He wasn't sure why he did, but Naruto closed his eyes. He felt Iruka take the goggles from his head and wrap a cloth around in its place. When he opened his eyes, Iruka smiled at him, shakily holding a kunai for Naruto to see the hitai-ate on his forehead.

"This is my final gift, Naruto. Give this to the Hokage, and you'll pass," Iruka muttered, looking at an envelope poking out from his flak jacket. "Become a great shinobi, Naruto. I know that you have the potential to become the greatest shinobi this world has ever seen. The journey will be hard, but you try to make friends, you hear? Don't wallow in sorrow. I will watch you...from...above…"

Naruto looked on as Iruka's head slumped, his body becoming slack. Anger, pain, and a deep hopelessness filled Naruto. Blood-red chakra began to flow out of him, enveloping him in a cloak taking the form of a fox. His eyes became red and slitted as he reared back and roared all of his heart to the skies.

=Break=

When Hiruzen came upon the scene in the forest, his heart broke. He had felt the malicious chakra of the Kyūbi from the Hokage Mansion, and it has spurred him into joining the search. Surrounded by Anbu, he had made his way to the location of the chakra, and he hoped Naruto.

Naruto was slumped against the prone body of Iruka, his favorite academy teacher. Tears still came from Naruto's eyes, even as the boy lay unconscious. To his experienced eyes, Hiruzen knew what happened at a glance.

"Take the bodies to the morgue," he muttered, his heart heavy. "Take the scroll to my office and lock it away once more."

A purple-haired kunoichi with a cat mask looked at her Hokage. She could see the pain in the man's face. "What of Naruto?"

Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. They were misted over with unshed tears, and she could hear his voice was on the edge of cracking. "I will take him myself. You have your orders. Dismissed."

The Anbu moved wordlessly as Hiruzen gently picked up the boy, cradling him like a fragile infant. The tears came now, and the elderly Hokage, touched his forehead to Naruto's.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun," he whispered through gritted teeth. "I'm so sorry that I failed. I will make this right, I promise."

Hiruzen carried the boy away, his mind already planning his next moves with cold efficiency even as his heart broke moment by moment. He knew that it was time to shed the lies he had told, and he would finally give the truth to the one person who deserves it the most.

_Please forgive me, Naruto-kun._

=Break=

Hiruzen watched the sleeping form of Naruto, his heart filled with sadness for the boy. He hadn't had the heart to wake him to gain the information needed to make a report, so he had sent Inoichi into the boy's mind. The Kyūbi hadn't been a danger to the mindwalker, much to both men's relief. In the end, the clear points of the night were known.

"Naruto, what am I to do?" Hiruzen whispered. He then noticed the letter clutched in Naruto's hand. Walking over and taking the letter, he was surprised to find his name on it.

The elderly Hokage sat back at his desk and opened the envelope, his breath catching at the handwriting of the fallen teacher.

_Hokage-sama,_

_I am writing this as a formal recommendation for Naruto to retake the test to become a genin. He has shown skill in the more physical and combat-related aspects of the shinobi world, but I believe that he just needs the right motivation to excel at all other aspects. I took the liberty of reviewing his past tests, and I found that it was the Bunshin test that kept failing him._

_Over the past year, I have kept a close eye on the boy as he uses the technique. Naruto, I believe, has far too much chakra to be able to ever successfully use the Bunshin Jutsu. It requires a level of chakra control that only Tsunade Senju possesses. Therefore, I am making a formal request for Naruto to learn the Kage Bunshin Jutsu as an alternative. It requires more chakra than a normal Bunshin, as you know, and I think this will be a jutsu made for him._

_Please do consider, Hokage-sama. I know that Naruto has the makings of a shinobi that can change the world._

_Iruka Umino_

Hiruzen chuckled softly, both at the level of care for the boy that Iruka possessed and his own foolishness. He had known Naruto for his entire life, and yet he never saw that the boy had too much chakra. The Hokage was just glad that Naruto had already learned the technique that night, almost as if it was an act of Providence.

He took out a piece of paper, the first piece of paperwork that he was glad to fill out in decades. After a signature and stamp of approval, Hiruzen smiled at Naruto. _Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You are now a genin of the Leaf._

=Break=

Naruto awoke as the first morning sunlight streamed in through the window. He cracked his eyes open and cursed as the light blinded him. After several moments, he realized that he wasn't in his room. He frantically looked around, calming down as he took in the figure of the Hokage standing in front of the window, looking out over Konoha with a contemplative look.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," he said kindly, turning with a small smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I...I don't know how to feel," Naruto admitted. "Iruka-sensei died because of me. If I had been smarter, Mizuki wouldn't have tricked me. I should have tried harder! I should have -"

Hiruzen held up a hand to stop him before Naruto began to spiral into a darkness that would consume him. "Naruto, you did nothing wrong. Mizuki took advantage of your trust in him, something that should have never happened. Besides, Iruka knew what he was doing when he gave his life to save yours."

"Maybe he shouldn't have," Naruto whispered.

Hiruzen walked over and stood in front of Naruto, standing imposingly over the boy. He released a small portion of killing intent, shocking him to his senses. "You are a shinobi of the Leaf. To die for your comrades, for your village, is the highest honor one can achieve to us. Iruka knew this. I will not tolerate you to shame his sacrifice, his memory, by acting foolishly."

Naruto was shocked at the dark tone of the Hokage. The man standing before him wasn't his jiji, rather, it was the Kami no Shinobi, the Professor, the man who had mastered every jutsu in the village and fought the four other Kage to a standstill.

The killing intent ended, leaving Naruto panting.

"Naruto, look at me," Hiruzen commanded. He looked deep into the boy's eyes, showing a calm, comforting smile. "Naruto-kun, Iruka sacrificed his life because he knew, just as I do, that you will do great things. It will be hard road from hereon, but I know that he will watch over you every step of the way."

Naruto felt the tears, but he made no action to stop them. He tentatively reached out and hugged Hiruzen like a lifeline. He cried out his pain, the aching emptiness in his heart. The tears washed away the anger, the hate for the man who had taken nearly everything from him.

After several minutes, Naruto looked at Hiruzen. "You...You said I was a shinobi, but I failed the test, right?"

"That is quite correct, Naruto," Hiruzen said. "However, your condition, which you were informed of last night, prevents you from learning the Bunshin Jutsu as Iruka discovered. He made a formal plea for you to be taught the Kage Bunshin, which I accepted. I know that you successfully created a Kage Bunshin last night, and I have decided to grant you the rank of genin."

Naruto smiled, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Thank you, Hokage-jiji. I won't let you or Iruka-sensei down. I promise."

"Good," Hiruzen smiled. "Now, you have some time before the academy starts. How about some early ramen?"

The boy smiled and nodded, walking behind the last of his family.

**AN: Hey all! This is the first chapter of my second story. I will be balancing **_**Loss in the Beginning**_ **with **_**The Doctor Will See You Now**_ **for the foreseeable future. **_**Trials of Life**_ **is coming along, but I'm building up a small backlog so that I can focus on these two stories more, since they have my muse at the moment.**

**AN Part II: I do not know who owns the cover art, but if anyone knows, please PM me so I can double check permissions. If you are the author and you wish for me to remove it as the cover art, I am happy to do so.**

**Thanks and have a good one!**


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